Days Of Solitude
by superlegend
Summary: A mission gone wrong leaves Ratchet wrecked and stranded on a desert-like planet. With the chance that Clank might be destroyed, pirates hired to kill him and natural disasters that push him past his limits, will he be able to survive? Will he manage to get off that planet?


**Hi guys! I have recently finished writing this year's final exam, so I will be getting back to writing again. I apologize to those of you who's PM's I have not replied to and I hope that this chapter is worth all the time that I didn't write something!**

 **This chapter is an entry for the One-Word prompt Challenge by the Writer's Anonymous forum (This is such an amazing forum – if you want some writing advice, reviews, critique, etc. just go there – it's the first forum in "General"!).**

 **In this challenge every participant had to claim a number from 1 to 100. Every number had an unknown prompt/keyword that we had to use as the theme of the one-shot/chapter. My promptis number 99 – solitude.**

 **This was supposed to be my first one-shot ever (I want so badly to write my first one-shot!), but because of the storyline and limited time it will end up being more than that. This isn't as big a project as "The Last Of His Kind", though – it will probably be no more than five chapters long.**

 **I hope you enjoy it! ANY critique, concrit, advice of ANY kind or value from ANYBODY is welcomed with open arms!**

Chapter 1

Light from a nearby, yet distant sun illuminates Ratchet's dog-like face as he narrows his gaze on something in the void. He always keeps the ship's lights off – the beauty of the various star systems they visit are more visible and far more breathtakingly beautiful when they navigate space in darkness. Besides, it helps them move stealthily in-an-out of enemy territory, saving them a lot of time and effort.

A red, desert-like sphere and its sister planet, Dextris, is visible through the viewpoint of the ship. Asteroids clutter the open space – some are ablaze, other is chunks of ice, others seem to be giant metallic boulders. Some make you gasp as it emits fluorescent light from its crystal-like surface. Their movements have a chaotic beauty – like many couples waltzing through space in their seemingly endless orbits.

Fidgeting with a pendant that Clank gave him, Ratchet stares at Dextris through the viewpoint of his ship, listening to the rhythmic tap of his irritated fingers on the metallic surface of the pendant. There is no commotion down there, no explosions or any signs of a battle – how is that possible? How can everything be so peaceful when they are supposed to be detonating a bomb? Their mission was clear – after Ratchet drops Clank off in a safe spot on Dextris, Clank should go from there and plant a bomb in Tachyon's fortress. Once finished, he should have signalled Ratchet to come pick him up, so that they can detonate it in the safety of their ship.

But no signal came through.

Clank is a pretty small robot – he is able to slip in-and-out of places unnoticed, so he should have already been finished by now. Why then is Ratchet still waiting for him?

Ratchet's gold-furred, brown-striped face gleams in the light from sweat as his arrow-shaped tail swishes wildly from side to side, his appendages standing alert on his head as he looks for signs of Clank - why has he received no signal from his partner? Why is there no sign of Clank's existence? A lump forms in his throat – will he have to do without his best friend?

He paces to and fro. Heat from the nearby sun beats down on Ratchet's dark-blue and red-orange accented armour, leaving him panting as the hot air makes him claustrophobic, making him feel like a boiling egg. His thoughts run wildly – could the Drophyds have caught Clank as he tried to plant that bomb? Could his Signal Transmitter have gotten destroyed during battle? Ratchet's Receiver beeps in his hand as a dot flashes on the screen – the Transmitter is still online, sharing its location with the Receiver. Did Clank lose it then? Or is there some technical problem? That is impossible, though. They checked the devices twice before heading on this mission.

He could have been destroyed.

The mere thought makes Ratchet feel like he wants to break down and weep, like a dark hole engulfs him. How can he live without the little robot that changed his whole life two years ago? Clank means so much to him – he is his best friend, the friend to whom he could tell all his worries and fears. He is his comrade, the one for whom he would give his life in battle. He is one of the few true friends Ratchet ever had, the robot that became his brother. Now there is a possibility that some yellowish fish-faced thing they call a Drophyd, in giant robotic armour destroyed him – how will he be able to live with that?

A poem Clank once wrote for him sounds in his thoughts:

 _Don't fret and fume_

 _for I'll always be there_

 _by your side_

 _even in the sight_

 _Of countless wars,_

 _even in the midst of the end,_

 _even on death's deadly doorstep_

 _or unto eternity._

Normally poems doesn't have a lot of meaning to sentient beings, but when it comes from someone you really love (brotherly and intimately), it is worth more than gold and diamonds to you. The fact that Clank, even with his formal, semi-monotone voice never speak like that made it even more precious – but now it feels like a thousand knives shredding his heart endlessly.

Urgency floods his body, making his pace faster."What will I do?" he whispers to himself. Maybe he should fly to the location given by the Transmitter. But that would blow their cover – as far as he can see, nobody is aware of their presence. He can go back to their headquarters, the Hall Of Heroes – but that would be useless, especially if Clank ends up needing him. He will be too late by the time he returns with backup – Clank will definitely be destroyed by then.

Grunting as he looks up, he slides the pendant over his head as the alarms go off. He rushes to the cockpit, quickly securing himself in the seat.

An unknown ship is approaching. He closely studies the ship – it may be some trading ship passing by, heading to the desert-like, over-polluted planet with green specks here and there they call Dextris. Many traders go there, even though it's dangerous – their leader, Tachyon, is known for his famously long shopping lists. He waves his hand in dismissal – he has more important things to worry about than a simple ship passing by.

Ear-shattering noise makes him cover his sensitive appendages as the ship shakes violently beneath the missiles.

"Oh no you don't!"

He quickly sends his own waves of missiles up their way, showering them in explosions that make him grin. His smirk gets quickly wiped away as he realises that both ships is plummeting towards a red, desert-like planet. He pounds some buttons on the control panel and pulls hard on the yoke, dread quickly filling his heart as nothing seems to work.

He sits back, heaving as he stares wide-eyed in at the enlarging planet. Images flash through his mind – will Clank be ok? Will the other galactic rangers be ok without him? What will it feel like when he finally strikes the planet's surface? He knows that the chance for survival is slim.

But he holds on to the little threads of hope he has.

The alarm shrieks in his hears, a red light flickering as he braces himself for the impact.

…..

The ship makes contact with the planet's surface, pounding through the sand as it ploughs forward. It finally stops, leaving a deep slope behind it.

Ratchet groans. He slowly opens his olive eyes, coughing as the smoke that fills the air chokes him. Showered in glass shards, he unbuckles himself and kicks the shards of glass out of the viewport, slowly dragging himself out. He stops about two metres away, sitting with his head between his legs. The sharp smell of smoke still stabs his lungs as he gasps for air. The bright light from the sand pierces his eyes, making him squint. The taste of blood fills his mouth, and his tongue feels numb.

 _How could this have happened? How could I have allowed myself to let my guard down?_

He rubs his throbbing head as he lifts it up, closing his eyes against the burning sun as he inhales deeply. Falling with his back into the sand, he covers his eyes with his arm. His body starts shaking as he becomes aware of the adrenaline that courses through his veins. His thoughts are a wild slur of images and voices, just like the post-dream effects experienced when you start sleeping during exhaustion.

Despair fills his heart again when he thinks of Clank.

 _Now I won't be able to help you._

For a while he stays in that position, holding on to the pendant as he allows the fog from the smoke to clear from his mind.

 _What will I do without you?_

One of Captain Qwark's favourite proverbs jumps into his mind - "fear and hopelessness is your most powerful adversary - it robs you from a better future and is the brave man's downfall." That fills Ratchet with courage –he removes his damaged armour before he starts checking himself with slow, shaky movements. He has no serious injuries – just a lot of cuts and bruises, and some very stiff muscles. He allows himself to rest a while in the sand – exhaustion from the crash makes it hard for him to do anything.

A few minutes pass before he stands up. He looks at the wreck with great sorrow – the once majestic Galactic Ranger warship that's coloured exactly like their armour now lies in ruins.

He gathers some courage before searching the ship for whatever he could find. There weren't much to the ship - it only had a cockpit, a viewpoint and a small storage space. With great effort he pries open the main entrance, throwing it to the side and starting his search at the storage space. He knows that he would find some stuff there.

A knife, some water and food in neatly sealed containers and a combustor later he sits and nibbles on a meat strip as he gazes at the panoramic picturesque view. Other than the deep slope from the crash, there are only some small dunes around the ship. The sand-pillars further on remind him of his home – Grim's humble workshop in planet Veldin's Gizzel Plato. There seems to be some valley to his right – maybe there is some water there.

The air is hot and dry in Ratchet's nose. The sky slowly fades into mixtures of red and yellow light as the burning sun disappears until nothing is left but breathtakingly views of so many stars clustered together in beautiful spirals and lines that is part of the Solana Galaxy. Ratchet is awestruck as he sees this – the sky has a higher definition view than the holo-devices they use to watch movies or play games.

The night air starts freezing him to the bone. He cuts some of the material from the seats, wrapping himself in it. He picks a comfy spot in the wrecked ship to sleep, putting the combustor beside him, as a preparation for any attacks during the night. A combustor is a good weapon to have – it fires short to medium range missiles that can target multiple enemies.

He thinks of the day's events – that ship looked extremely like it belonged to some pirate crew. But they didn't try to board his ship – well, they didn't have much of an opportunity anyway. He sees the red ship with its white tribal emblem falling, the extra weight he felt as they headed towards another spot of the desert. Could its inhabitants have survived the crash? If so, what are they doing now?

This thought makes him realise how alone he is. He has seen no signs of any living being since he landed there. Will he be heard if he gives a loud cry? Not even sounds from night creatures fill the sky! He feels like the planet's swallowing him whole. Worry and fear clouds him, his chest heaving up and down as he struggles to breath. He feels lost as hopelessness fills his mind again.

To be alone in the vastness of a planet!

But then he is reminded of Clank. How can he give up when there is still a chance that he might still be alive? Will he really give up on Clank?

He finally drifts off to sleep, just before the sun comes up.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed that!**

 **Before I forget, I recently started my own community – Ratchet And Clank Central! It's still new and in construction, but I hope that it's fun nonetheless. It aims at collecting all well-written and/or enjoyable stories. Go ahead and check it out! If you have any ideas, stories you would like to see there or some advice you want to share, feel free to do so!**

 **I plan to write an action scene in the next chapter. Since there would be firearms and different species and all those canon-related stuff, feel free to share what you would like to see in there. What weapons would you like to see present? What species should play a role in the chapter? Feel free to share your ideas!**

 **Also, I am currently working on a forum for the Ratchet and Clank forum. Its contents would be divided into three main categories: Writing and writing-advice; chat and discussions; and RPG. Most parts of the forum have already been planned, but I have no idea of the ins-and-outs of RPG, so I would really appreciate some advice. What do you like about RPG? What should be avoided in there at all costs? Any advice is welcome - just put it in a review here or PM me!**

 **Finally, I would like to thank KanIAm, sueb262, Igenlode Wordsmith and everybody else who helped me with this story and with my skill. I really appreciate what you guys do for me! I also thank God, for blessing me with , and with the opportunity of learning to write. I accredit my skill to him.**

 **Review, favourite, follow?**


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